


i love you when you're singing that song

by merlypops



Series: 5SOS Song Oneshots [12]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Crushes, F/F, First Meetings, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Genderbending, Girl 5sos, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Light Angst, Muke - Freeform, Singing, cis girl luke, cis girl michael, girl!luke, girl!michael
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-21
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-04-10 12:14:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4391474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merlypops/pseuds/merlypops
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'The same girl appeared to watch Lu singing every day.<br/>The pair never spoke but the girl smiled at Lu sometimes, scrunching her face up in a way that was undeniably cute as she fiddled with the hem of whatever band t-shirt she was wearing that day.<br/>It made Lu blush.'</p><p><b>Lu sings in the park sometimes and Mike wants to take her for coffee.</b> </p><p>Based on Taylor Swift’s cover of Vance Joy’s “Riptide”.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i love you when you're singing that song

**Author's Note:**

> As I mentioned in the summary, this oneshot is based on Taylor Swift's cover of Vance Joy's "Riptide" which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GGRdwfhl-U
> 
> I hope you'll all enjoy this! I've never written girl!Muke before so I hope it doesn't suck...

“ _I was scared of dentists and the dark._ ”

Lu’s voice was as soft as the jumper she was bundled up in, as gentle as the breeze playfully tousling her long blonde hair. The chords she was playing were soft too, melodious and lingering in the early morning as her fingers danced across the steel strings of her guitar.

“ _I was scared of pretty girls and starting conversations._ ”

There was a small crowd gathering around Lu now as she sat in the park with her back pressed against the thick trunk of an old oak tree. She came here almost every morning now, just playing because she loved the music, loved losing herself in it.

Although the crowd changed every time Lu took her battered guitar out of its case and sank down into the grass, one thing remained consistent.

The same girl appeared to watch Lu singing every day.

She stood at the back of the crowd, leaning against a nearby tree with her hands shoved into the pockets of her skinny jeans and a piercing glinting in her eyebrow. Her hair was dyed black at the moment, streaked through with blues and pinks and silvers. It had been red the week before and green before that.

The pair never spoke but the girl smiled at Lu sometimes, scrunching her face up in a way that was undeniably cute as she fiddled with the hem of whatever band t-shirt she was wearing that day.

It made Lu blush.

“ _Oh, all my friends are turning green_ ,” Lu sang and her cheeks were flushed with blood now because the pretty girl’s emerald green eyes were dancing with light as she listened to the younger girl singing. “ _You're the magician's assistant in their dreams._ ”

College was over for the summer now and Lu was glad of the break because it meant she could come down to the park whenever she wanted to.

Lu didn’t like being at home much now that her older brothers and her best friend Cal had gone to university. It was too quiet and her parents were working every hour of the day, and Lu felt like a shadow when she was on her own there, drifting through the empty rooms like a ghost.

“ _Oh, oh, and they come unstuck._ ”

The park was better than being at home. It was bustling with people and dogs and birds, and the sounds were quiet and constant and comforting.

Lu liked the low murmur of the crowd and the soft murmur of the wind through the trees. She liked the children laughing and the chatter of the parents as they waited on park benches, and best of all she liked the enthusiastic clapping she got whenever a song was over.

“ _Lady, running down to the riptide, taken away to the dark side. I wanna be your left hand man._ ”

Lu’s lips tugged up into a small smile at that and she bit at her lip-ring distractedly as she changed chords. Her blonde hair was fluttering around her in a way that Cal _insisted_ made her look pretty and the collar of her blue plaid shirt was flapping in the wind.

The black-haired girl was wearing short sleeves today, dressed in a faded Good Charlotte t-shirt that showed off the tattoos covering the faint scars on her arms. She was shivering a bit, like the breeze was just a little too cold for her, but she didn’t leave.

Lu had never expected her to though.

“ _I love you when you're singing that song and I got a lump in my throat 'cause you're gonna sing the words wrong._ ”

Lu could see the pretty girl’s cherry-red lips moving as she sang along softly too and it made the butterflies that were beating in Lu’s stomach quieten. She tried to drag her gaze away, tried to make sure she was looking at everyone else as she played but it soon proved impossible.

Lu could feel those sparkling green eyes tracing her pale cheekbones as they heated with blood. She glanced up through her eyelashes, smiling around the words as the black-haired girl stepped closer almost unconsciously.

The stranger’s dyed hair was a mess thanks to the wind and her tummy was soft beneath her band t-shirt. Lu thought she was so, _so_ beautiful.

“ _There's this movie that I think you'll like_ ,” the blonde girl sang and her voice was clear in the morning air. “ _This guy decides to quit his job and heads to New York City._ ”

There was a bird singing in the branches of the oak tree Lu was leaning against and the pads of her fingers were beginning to ache a little from the press of the metal strings. “ _This cowboy's running from himself, and she's been living on the highest shelf._ ”

The girl dropped down to kneel on the grass with a few of the little kids that were watching. Her jeans were ripped at the knee and the grass was damp with dew against her lily-white skin. She didn’t seem to care about any of it though. Her emerald eyes were warm and brighter than Lu had ever seen them.

That made her happy.

The girl had looked sad at first, always lingering too far for Lu to get a proper look at her. The girl had stretched her sleeves down over her trembling hands and bit down hard on her bottom lip whenever Lu sang ‘Fix You’ by Coldplay - one of her favourite songs to perform - like maybe it reminded the black-haired girl of worse times.

She looked happier now though, smiled bright when Lu switched chords and sang: “ _Oh, oh, and they come unstuck_.”

Lu’s voice rose as her confidence grew and she saw the satisfaction on the older girl’s face as she settled down cross-legged a short distance away. Lu wished she knew what the stranger’s favourite Good Charlotte album was. She wished she knew her favourite colour and whether the stranger liked girls too, and why ‘Fix You’ still brought tears to her beautiful emerald eyes even now.

Lu wished she knew her name.

“ _Lady, running down to the riptide, taken away to the dark side_.” Lu thought she might be a little bit scared of the black-haired girl. It seemed strange to feel so strongly about someone you’d never spoken to before. “ _I wanna be your left hand man._ ”

The green-eyed girl’s own pale hand drifted forwards to settle in the grass and Lu was seized with the sudden desire to take it, to just drop her guitar in the grass and hold the girl’s hand. She _didn’t_ of course but… but she thought about it, looked at the girl’s chipped black nail varnish and smudged eyeliner and pictured holding her hand.

Lu shook herself, focusing on the song.

“ _I love you when you're singing that song and I got a lump in my throat 'cause you're gonna sing the words wrong._ ”

Lu wondered if the girl ever struggled like she did, whether that was with coursework or relationships or just learning to accept who you were. She wondered whether the girl shared any of her bad habits, wondered if they liked the same films or read the same books since she already knew about their shared music taste thanks to the stranger’s wardrobe choice.

Lu wondered if the faint scars she could see on the girl’s wrists meant the same as hers but that was a dangerous line of thought to follow and Lu swallowed thickly past the lump that suddenly rose in her throat as she ducked her head, letting her long blonde hair fall down to hide her face as she focused on her guitar.

“ _I just wanna, I just wanna know, if you're gonna, if you're gonna stay._ ” Lu’s voice barely wobbled but she thought it sounded a little strained all the same. There were over twenty people watching her and she looked up jerkily as her fingers tripped clumsily to make a new chord. Her slightly startled eyes found the stranger’s and the warm emerald calmed the younger girl’s frayed nerves.

“ _I just gotta, I just gotta know,_ ” Lu sang and her voice was softer now, less strained. “ _I can't have it, I can't have it any other way_.”

The girl was sitting so close now that her knees were almost brushing Lu’s guitar case where it was resting between them and… and Lu wondered if it should be _weird_ but… but it wasn’t...

“ _I swear she's destined for the screen,_ ” the blonde girl sang and her voice was sweet, more bubbly now because the pretty black-haired stranger was grinning again and the smile was cheeky. “ _Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen, oh._ ”

The girl’s lips tugged up higher and Lu felt herself smiling too, felt her lips drawing up around the words as the pretty girl grinned.

A little boy pushed forwards from somewhere further back in the crowd to watch Lu sing with wide, awestruck hazel eyes and the stranger looked vaguely triumphant, like Lu getting recognition was all she’d wanted.

“ _Lady, running down to the riptide_.” Lu’s sparkling blue eyes were brighter now and the sun was just clearing the treetops. The stranger brushed her hair out of her face impatiently with a small, pale hand and the blonde girl smiled.

It made Lu’s heart skip in her chest when the girl smiled back.

“ _Taken away to the dark side, I wanna be your left hand man._ ” Lu wondered if it was weird that she hadn’t broken eye contact with the girl the whole time she’d been singing. It didn’t _feel_ bad though. It made Lu’s heart skip in her chest with happiness.

“ _I love you when you're singing that song and I got a lump in my throat 'cause you're gonna sing the words wrong._ ”

Lu cut the song short there, deciding to leave the last two verses out since they were pretty similar, and she was getting thirsty and stiff from sitting still for so long now.

“That’s it for today, guys,” she said and she had to clear her throat because she sounded a little hoarse. The sun was shining from behind the clouds now, and the little boy sitting at the front beamed at her with gaps in his teeth and admiration in his eyes.

There was a round of applause and Lu’s usual embarrassed mumble of: “Oh no, I don’t take money. That’s not what this is about.”

The crowd dispersed slowly and, soon enough, Lu was left alone beneath the oak tree again.

She ducked her head to tidy her guitar away carefully, letting her blonde hair tumble forwards to cascade down her chest like a golden waterfall. It was pretty and getting very long now.

Her mum wanted her to get it cut soon but Lu didn’t think she was going to.

“What _is_ it about then?” an unfamiliar voice asked. It was low and a little rough but there was something sweeter buried too. Lu looked up and felt her nervous smile stretching across her face at the black-haired girl hovering awkwardly in front of her.

“You what?” Lu asked blankly and the girl grinned again.

“You said you don’t play music for money… so why _do_ you play it?”

Lu’s cheeks heated with blood and she bit her lip, looking down and fiddling with the bracelet around her wrist that Cal had given her for Christmas after the older girl had spent over a month collecting shells and pretty beads for it.

“I just want to make people happy,” Lu mumbled at last and her cheeks were so hot now that the overhanging branches were in danger of catching fire.

She thought maybe the girl was going to laugh at her but it never happened.

The black-haired girl simply smiled instead, a crooked little twist of her lips as she extended a hand to help Lu up. Her grip was warm and strong in the fingerless gloves she was wearing.

Lu could see the hint of a tattoo on the girl’s thumb.

“I like that,” the stranger said and Lu knew she was referring to the blonde girl’s answer. “Life can be pretty shit sometimes so it’s nice to see that there are still some genuinely good people out there.”

Lu could have said a whole lot but she settled for a simple soft: “Thank you” instead. It sounded heartfelt and she saw the last of the cautiousness melt out of the older girl’s beautiful emerald green eyes.

“I’ve been watching you for weeks,” the stranger confessed before she suddenly blanched, tripping over her own feet although she’d been standing still just moments before. Apparently she fidgeted when she was embarrassed, just like Lu did. “Um… oh my god… I’m not a freak I swear… I… _That came out wrong_!”

The last words were said somewhat desperately and Lu couldn’t quite refrain from sniggering although she covered her smiling mouth with her hands in an effort not to look _too_ amused.

“It’s okay,” Lu said softly and her smile became shy as she watched the girl with gentle eyes. “I’ve been watching you too.”

The smaller girl relaxed, smiling that mischievous trademark grin again as the breeze tousled her dyed hair and her eyes crinkled with laughter. She took the blonde girl’s breath away.

“My name’s Mike,” the girl said and she extended the same hand as before for Lu to shake.

Lu took it warmly, holding it for a few seconds longer than was strictly necessary but it made the girl - _Mike_ \- smile widest yet. They were both blushing now.

“My name’s Lu,” the blonde girl said and Mike smiled gently at her, giving her hand a squeeze as she let it go unwillingly.

“I like that name,” Mike decided, running her soft fingers through her dyed hair and smoothing it away from her forehead. Her bottom lip was sore like she’d been biting it a lot but her eyes were gleaming the happiest Lu had ever seen them.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

The words were out of Lu’s mouth before she’d even stopped to consider them but she knew she’d done the right thing the moment Mike met her gaze with excitement evident in her eyes.

Lu’s cheeks glowed the colour of blossoms in spring.

“I’d like that,” Mike said softly and she bumped Lu gently with her elbow, stooping to pick up the younger girl’s guitar for her. “You want to go now?”

Lu smiled a small content smile, nudging the black-haired girl back.

“That would be nice,” she said softly and Michael grinned, tilting her head to the side as she gave Lu a curious look, biting down on her bottom lip again.

“Would it be weird if we held hands? Because I know we’ve only just started talking but we’ve seen each other for weeks and -”

Lu reached out hesitantly and gave Mike’s hand a gentle squeeze, entwining their fingers securely.

“It’s probably weird,” Lu said but she was smiling and so was Mike now. “But I figure we’re both kind of weird anyway so it doesn’t really seem to matter all that much.”

Mike grinned but her eyes were still fixed on Lu’s face, drinking everything in like she couldn’t get enough of her.

“Can we go get coffee now before I accidentally blurt out how beautiful I think you are or something?” Mike teased and Lu’s heart was singing in her chest as she gave Mike’s hand a gentle tug, leading the way.

“Come on,” Lu said softly.

They found a café on the high street and whiled the morning away talking about music and people and their lives in general. They laughed and talked seriously and held hands a bit whenever they thought they could get away with it, and Lu gave Mike the cherry off the top of her piece of chocolate cake which had clearly been an excellent idea if the sunny smile the older girl rewarded her with afterwards was anything to go by.

Neither wanted the morning to end and, instead of saying goodbye like they might have been expected to do, they arranged to meet up the next day instead… and then the day after… and the day after _that_... and it might not have been normal exactly but Lu didn’t think that really mattered when she had Mike smiling at her like she’d hung the moon in the sky.

They were never lonely again.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you thought of this!  
> I'm worried it's kind of terrible so hopefully it was okay! Not sure how much I like the ending but whatever, let me know what you think please!  
> Thank you for reading ♥


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